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Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
Solid production values, a rich screenplay, and breezy performances by the stars are the primary selling points of a minor classic from 1974 called Thunderbolt and Lightfoot that seamlessly combines two different movie genres, though it is a little longer than necessary.
This is the story of Thunderbolt (Clint Eastwood), a bank robber on the run for seven years after a botched robbery where the booty was never recovered, who meets a young hustler by the name of Lightfoot (Jeff Bridges), who also seems to be escaping a shady past. The guys run into two former members of Thunderbolt's crew who decide to let go of the past and work together on an even bigger and more elaborate heist.
Though produced by Eastwood's production company Malpaso, the creative force behind this film is Michael Cimino, who directed and wrote the screenplay. Five years later, Cimino would win two Oscars for producing and directing 1978's Best Picture, The Deer Hunter, but he effectively cut his teeth here, mounting a richly entertaining story which actually tells two different stories. Yes, we have an elaborate heist caper mounted in meticulous detail, but we also have a lovely bromance/buddy movie centered around the title characters which is really the heart of this film.
LOVED the way the characters meet...Thunderbolt is being chased by his shotgun toting former partner Red (the late George Kennedy) and is rescued by Lightfoot in a car he has just stolen. It's so much fun watching the hero worship in Lightfoot's eyes as he learns some of Thunderbolt's backstory, though we get no backstory about Lightfoot, which turns out to be OK. The relationship that develops between these guys has genuine affection, even a sliver of sexual tension, though I don't think the guys realize it. It's this relationship that keeps the viewer invested in everything that's going on.
We do get to see the new heist caper planned and executed and it's fun seeing if the execution comes off exactly as the plan, but it is over detailed and slows the story down around the halfway point, but regains its momentum during the final act, which includes a hairy chase sequence through a drive-in theater and a handful of surprise storyline moves we don't see coming at all.
Eastwood provides his usual understated cool as Thunderbolt, but the real star of this film is Jeff Bridges as Lightfoot, a dazzling and charismatic performance that earned the actor his second Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor (he lost the award to Robert De Niro for The Godfather Part II). Kennedy provides equal laughs and hisses as the greedy and dopey Red and frequent Eastwood co-star, the late Geoffrey Lewis, is a charmer as the wimpy Goody. Other familiar faces pop up along the way including Jack Dodson, Dub Taylor, Catherine Bach, Gary Busey, and Vic Tayback, but this film is all about Eastwood, Bridges, and the filmmaking skills of Michael Cimino. Incidentally, the only film I know of that features Jeff Bridges in drag.
Solid production values, a rich screenplay, and breezy performances by the stars are the primary selling points of a minor classic from 1974 called Thunderbolt and Lightfoot that seamlessly combines two different movie genres, though it is a little longer than necessary.
This is the story of Thunderbolt (Clint Eastwood), a bank robber on the run for seven years after a botched robbery where the booty was never recovered, who meets a young hustler by the name of Lightfoot (Jeff Bridges), who also seems to be escaping a shady past. The guys run into two former members of Thunderbolt's crew who decide to let go of the past and work together on an even bigger and more elaborate heist.
Though produced by Eastwood's production company Malpaso, the creative force behind this film is Michael Cimino, who directed and wrote the screenplay. Five years later, Cimino would win two Oscars for producing and directing 1978's Best Picture, The Deer Hunter, but he effectively cut his teeth here, mounting a richly entertaining story which actually tells two different stories. Yes, we have an elaborate heist caper mounted in meticulous detail, but we also have a lovely bromance/buddy movie centered around the title characters which is really the heart of this film.
LOVED the way the characters meet...Thunderbolt is being chased by his shotgun toting former partner Red (the late George Kennedy) and is rescued by Lightfoot in a car he has just stolen. It's so much fun watching the hero worship in Lightfoot's eyes as he learns some of Thunderbolt's backstory, though we get no backstory about Lightfoot, which turns out to be OK. The relationship that develops between these guys has genuine affection, even a sliver of sexual tension, though I don't think the guys realize it. It's this relationship that keeps the viewer invested in everything that's going on.
We do get to see the new heist caper planned and executed and it's fun seeing if the execution comes off exactly as the plan, but it is over detailed and slows the story down around the halfway point, but regains its momentum during the final act, which includes a hairy chase sequence through a drive-in theater and a handful of surprise storyline moves we don't see coming at all.
Eastwood provides his usual understated cool as Thunderbolt, but the real star of this film is Jeff Bridges as Lightfoot, a dazzling and charismatic performance that earned the actor his second Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor (he lost the award to Robert De Niro for The Godfather Part II). Kennedy provides equal laughs and hisses as the greedy and dopey Red and frequent Eastwood co-star, the late Geoffrey Lewis, is a charmer as the wimpy Goody. Other familiar faces pop up along the way including Jack Dodson, Dub Taylor, Catherine Bach, Gary Busey, and Vic Tayback, but this film is all about Eastwood, Bridges, and the filmmaking skills of Michael Cimino. Incidentally, the only film I know of that features Jeff Bridges in drag.